Quota: SC issues notice to Centre

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre questioning the basis on which a policy decision to implement 27 per cent reservation was taken.

A vacation bench comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice L S Panta appealed to the agitating students to give up their strike since the apex court has decided to examine the entire issue.

The bench while issuing notices to the concerned ministries asked them to explain the modalities to be adopted for the implementation of the policy.

The court sought the response from the government on how it would deal with the matter and the basis for identifying the OBCs, besides the rationale for adoption of norms. The court granted eight weeks to the government to file a counter-affidavit on the implementation of the policy.

The court said it will examine the effect of the policy's implementation, which the petitioner said will result in division of the country on the basis of caste.

"These questions have serious social and political ramifications and this court will deal with it appropriately," it said. The court was hearing two petitions on the issue filed by Shiv Khera and another by advocate Ashok Kumar Thakur.

Thakur, in his petition, had asked the court to quash the constitutional amendment on reservation and asked the government to "take affirmative action to remove discrimination, inequality and disparity".

He had argued that the constitutional amendment has afftected the fundamental right of a "large number of citizens, created social upheaval, anarchy, chaos and unrest leading to an adverse law and order situation when the issue is already settled, and requires to be judicially reviewed in the interest of equality, justice and fair play."